Tag: facebook

The internet can be a bully. It can be your best friend one day and your mortal enemy the next. Anything from a high school school achievement to a business complaint, your footy team photo to a survey you took years ago – can all be found in a single Google search. A little scary isn’t it?

The internet can be a bully. It can be your best friend one day and your mortal enemy the next. Anything from a high school school achievement to a business complaint, your footy team photo to a survey you took years ago – can all be found in a single Google search. A little scary isn’t it?

User rage over Facebook's revised privacy settings may have settled down for now but that's no reason to get complacent. According to AVG's Lloyd Borrett, managing your Facebook privacy is as simple as one, two, three.

For the first article in this series, I asked 'Why are you bothering with online marketing?' My purpose, of course, was to emphasise the importance of creating measurable goals. But, be warned, even the most splashy, expensive, creative, courageous marketing initiative will fail if it is not built on a suitable foundation. To generate any interest in the online space, you must first develop a compelling reason for your target market to actually want to engage with you.

Once upon a time, a week wouldn't pass without at least one phone call or email from an aspiring print magazine publisher. These days, if there is one subject I'm asked my opinion on more than any other it's the strangely daunting topic of online marketing. For that reason, this article aspires to be the first in a series: The Anthill Guide to Online Marketing for Small Business Owners and Startups.

Yesterday, in Sydney, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Dell's Richard Binhammer. According to the company bio, he's "a core member of Dell’s Social Media Advisory Council and responsible for designing and implementing digital media and blog outreach, with a special emphasis on communities and corporate reputation." What does this mean? He's the guy largely responsible for Dell's pioneering moves in social media over the past four years.

Yesterday, in Sydney, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Dell's Richard Binhammer. According to the company bio, he's "a core member of Dell’s Social Media Advisory Council and responsible for designing and implementing digital media and blog outreach, with a special emphasis on communities and corporate reputation." What does this mean? He's the guy largely responsible for Dell's pioneering moves in social media over the past four years.

It was only a matter of time. Columbia Pictures has adapted the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, to create The Social Network, due for US release in October. However, it's likely to face stiff competition, with the Middle Men due for release in August. Yup, it's another tale of internet fame and fortune 'based on a real story' -- the 'invention' of ecommerce.

A young entrepreneur asked me an interesting question, “If Twitter hadn’t happened yet and you had the chance to invest in it at start-up, would you?” As it turns out this is quite relevant as I did have the chance to invest in Twitter during a very early funding round through my own networks in Silicon Valley.

In early February, Facebook announced that it had 400 million users and All Facebook’s Nick O’Neill is predicting that the company should near the 600 million user mark and surpass $1 billion in annualised revenue by the end of the year. But the growth of Facebook is evidence of something more than a fad.

In early February, Facebook announced that it had 400 million users and All Facebook’s Nick O’Neill is predicting that the company should near the 600 million user mark and surpass $1 billion in annualised revenue by the end of the year. But the growth of Facebook is evidence of something more than a fad.

Many years ago, Google took centre stage just as the world began to buzz about web 2.0. Could it be Facebook's turn to take the digital reins and deliver the next meaningful evolution of the web from the realm of geekdom to the mainstream.

It is perhaps inevitable then that the rise of social media has been accompanied by a counter-trend towards users abandoning it. Last year, when Twitter was the hot breakout platform, research revealed that 60% of Twitter users quit within the first month. Of course, that group was dominated by tyre-kickers, but it serves to demonstrate that people will only commit time to activities they think will return them a net benefit over time.

The latest in Geoff McDonald's Book Rapper series, this distillation offers a bite sized overview of Twitter for those with an interest in its social side and those keen to exploit its potential as a business tool.

This spoof of "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys has been climbing up the viral charts. Produced by Pantless Knights, it's a tribute to The New Dork ruling the roost in today's tech world. It's catchy, and you can even download the free MP3.

A recent survey by The Nielsen Company has shown a global rise of time spent on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, of two and a half hours for December 2009 and December 2008. Going from three hours to five and a half hours represents a staggering 82 percent increase.

I used to Google hairdressers, plumbers, cafes. Now I ask my Facebook and Twitter connections who to go to, because a personal recommendation tells me a lot more than someone’s website can. SEO is doomed. In the format we know it, at least.

People who say social media is a fad have a profound misunderstanding of the internet and the reasons why people love it so, writes Leela Cosgrove.

According to this satirical video from The Onion, archaeologists have found 'ruins' of a lost internet civilisation called Friendster. You can imagine how the owners of MySpace, Facebook and (still revenue-less) Twitter might not find this as funny as the rest of us.

Communication is a fundamental human need. However, as Will Egan explains, Twitter and Facebook can become costly distractions from the main game if companies don't understand where their communities are coming from.